World Mission Society Church of God – La Vista Church of Christ

Which law is the law?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 22:24:26 +0000

Question:

I have a friend who has fallen into the World Mission Society Church of God which is an anti-Christian cult. I have been trying to witness to her and she had presented me with different beliefs that I’m having trouble answering in regards to the law. I was hoping you could help with a couple of questions I had.

One is I John 3:4; “sin is the transgression of the law.” I was asked which law is that. My immediate answer was the Ten Commandments to which she asked, "What about the Sabbath?"

Another is regarding the promise of the New Covenant. God said He will put His Spirit in us and write His law on our hearts and minds. Which Law is that? Is it the Ten Commandments or a different law?

Answer:

Your confusion seems to be rooted in not understanding some terms in the Bible.

"The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward" (Psalms 19:7-11).

While each term in Psalms 19 emphasizes a different aspect, the various terms all refer to the same body of laws that were given by God. For further details, see Is the covenant different from the Law?

The Ten Commandments are the prologue to the body of laws known as the Law of Moses. It is not a separate set of laws. We refer to the entire body as the Old Testament or the Old Law because it was replaced by Christ with a new set of laws that we call the New Testament or the New Law.

"'Behold, days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,' declares the LORD. 'But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,' declares the LORD, 'I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,' declares the LORD, 'for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more'" (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Jeremiah is clearly stating that the New Law (the Law of Christ) would be written on the hearts of God's people. The reason is simple. One of the initial steps to becoming a Christian is learning the Bible. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).

Sin occurs whenever a law of God is broken. An Israelite sinned when he broke a command of God found in the Law of Moses. A Christian sins when he breaks a command of God found in the Law of Christ.

Therefore, it is not a single law as your friend is trying to make it out to be, nor is it the Old Law as you attempted to answer by referring to the Ten Commandments. The world is currently under the New Law. See also Do the Ten Commandments apply to Christians?

Response:

Jeffrey,

I appreciate you helping to answer my question. It was especially helpful seeing that the Old Covenant is the Law. Thank you for helping me see that.

Is there any mention of God the Mother in the Bible?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 01:37:00 +0000

Question:

Good day,

Is there any mention of God the Mother in the Bible? I have to prepare for a group that is going to convince me from the Bible that it does teach about God the Mother.

Answer:

I'm assuming you have run into members of the World Mission Society Church of God. This is a group that started in South Korea in 1964. They believe their founder, Ahn Sahng-hong, who died in 1985, is the Christ, and his wife, Jang Gil-ja, who is still alive, is God the Mother.

They justify these heresies by pulling verses out of context and reassigning the meaning of basic terms. They start with "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Genesis 1:27). The argument is since male and female were created in the image of God; therefore God is composed of both male and female members. Of course, what the Bible actually teaches is that God is a Spirit. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). Genesis 1:27 informs us that humans (male and female) have spirits like God. It does not say that God has physical attributes.

They also take the verses where Jesus says, for instance, "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:40). They claim that this must be done by God the Mother because mothers raise children and give life. But take note that the latter claim is made without evidence. It also ignores the fact that Jesus said that he would raise those who believe in him and give them eternal life.

Then they take the verses that talk about the bride of Christ and claim that these refer to God the Mother. Again, this is done by claim and not proof. It ignores the fact that the bride of Christ is the church. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:25-27).

They also quote, "But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother" (Galatians 4:26). But they ignore that this verse is talking about an allegory. "This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants" (Galatians 4:24). We are talking about the Old Testament versus the New Testament, not deities.

What you will find is that this group has built a religion around two dynamic individuals. They then pulled phrases from the Bible to claim what they already believe. Nothing is truly proven.

Have you heard about the World Mission Society Church of God?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 02:17:00 +0000

Question:

Hi Brother Jeff,

On my way out of my apartment today, two ladies talked to me about "God our Mother" and pointed to Galatians 4:26 as evidence. I did some research on the belief and found out that they're most likely from the World Mission Society Church of God. They want to have a Bible study with me so I'll be meeting with them Sunday afternoon after worship. I intend to do some further study on them tonight and tomorrow to prepare and maybe some good fruit will come of it!

I was just curious what you might know about them or have some general advice about what to do when you agree to a Bible study with this kind of person. I was also shocked to find that you don't have any information on the La Vista site about them, the first occasion since discovering your website where I didn't find the answer to a question I have and I've been looking at this site very regularly since fall of 2010. Congratulations on a resource so excellent that it's shocking for it to be missing something!

Answer:

Given the thousands of denominations out there, I'm not at all surprised that I haven't covered most of them yet.

The World Mission Society Church of God was started by a couple in Korea in 1964. The founder, Ahn Sahng-Hong, is claimed to be God, the Father, and his wife, Zahng Gil-Jah, is God, the Mother. Ahn Sahng-Hong also claimed to be Jesus at his second coming. According to their doctrine, the male form of God can appear as either the Father, Son, or Spirit depending on the need. Thus, Ahn Sahng-Hong is said to be all three. Interestingly, Ahn Sahng-Hong wrote several books and never claimed to be Jesus. This is a claim that his followers have added since his death.

"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (II Thessalonians 2:3-4). While Paul had someone else in mind, the point remains the same. There are those in their arrogance who claim to be God and in doing so show themselves to be in opposition to God.

Ahn Sahng-Hong has since died in 1985 and Zahng Gil-Jah has inherited his organization. Zahng Gil-Jah, by the way, had divorced her husband in order to marry Ahn Sahng-Hong [Zahng Gil Jah’s Ex-Husband’s Side Of The Story?].

They use a part of a sentence taken from an allegory to make the claim that there is a female half to God. "But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all" (Galatians 4:26). What would be interesting to ask is "Who, then, is the bondwoman Hagar?" since this is passage uses the story of Hagar and Sarah. Biblically, the new Jerusalem is the church with all the saved. "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect" (Hebrews 12:22-23). That the church is seen as the bride of Christ is clearly stated in Ephesians 5:23-27. It is not an individual as this group claims.

This is a Sabbatarian organization, mixing pieces of the Old Testament, such as the feasts with the New Testament. This is because "Ahnsahnghong was baptized into the Seventh Day Adventist religion in 1948 at age 30, and remained a follower for 16 years" prior to his forming his own religion [Examining the World Mission Society]. Like the Seventh-Day Adventist, this group has been making prophecies. Ahn Sahng-Hong claimed that Jesus would return in 1967 and 1988, joining the popular bandwagon of predictions that year [Examining the World Mission Society]. They currently have a pamphlet that "predicted that Jesus or “the husband” would return on “the last day of the year 2012 A.D.”[Examining the World Mission Society].

Another wild belief is their claim that all humans are actually fallen angels who are serving time on earth before returning to heaven. It is based on "Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7). While our spirits do come from God, this verse does not state that we are angels, let alone fallen angels. The belief assumes preexistence to life on earth, which cannot be supported from the Scriptures.

The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry has a fairly good summary, with only a few mistakes, on this false religion with citations at "World Mission Society Church of God."